Update on the Big Bear Trail ride 2009. AXO Dude, His Friend & I went to this years event. AXO dude & I rode the "A" course that consisted of 5 sections totaling what we were told 186 miles. His friend rode the "B" that was over 110 miles. There were check points along the way of the "A" ride & if you were fortunate enough to get to them they gave you a ticket. There were a total of 7 tickets available on the "A" ride. We got up at 5am rode to the staging at 6:00 & left at 6:15. The 1st section of the ride started at 6500 feet at the lake & took us immediately into the nastiest square sharp edged rocks I have ever ridden on that ranged in all sizes stacked on top of one another climbing to over 8200 feet on Gold Mountain. Imagine yourself negotiating an uphill riding on giant dices stacked on one another. Yeah thats right never a smooth transition from one to another pitching the bike up & down & sideways the entire way. I ran about 20 pounds of pressure on the front & many times felt the thud of the rocks smashing my tire into the rim. How I didnt get any flats I will never know. We made it to the 1st checkpoint & got our ticket about 25 miles in & around 8am as I recall. Then we were presented with a very steep narrow uphill consisting of ruts, more square rocks & loose dirt & turns with riders strewn about trying to get to the top of another mountain. This hill is were AXO dude & I parted ways after him trying several times to negotiate the uphill. At that altitude the lack of oxygen exacerbates the already difficult situation. After waiting at the top for about 45 minutes when finally one of the exhausted riders was able to relay to me that my partner was regretfully turning back. At that point I was faced with a decision to go it alone or turn back. It was then I realized I forgot my cell phone back at the condo. What a dumb ass ! So that being said I continued on hoping that the worst was behind me. Boy was I in for a surprise. It seems that the organizers of this ride were intent on showing us what bad asses they are by throwing what I presumed was the worst that they could. The 1st leg took us all the way to Arrowhead for gas. The 2nd leg took us back into the mountains to the North. There was even a deep boulder strewn stream crossing to cool us off. The 3rd section 37+miles took us back to Big Bear lake via White Mountain, then Delemar mountain where just for fun they required us to climb another rock strewn loose dirt hill climb with no fewer than 7 guys at my attempt stacked up on it. Once at the top after pushing my bike for what seemed way too far up the hill was able to get back on it & finally gain some momentum to be able to get to the top where I was presented with a group of fellow riders CHEERING & CLAPPING. That made me feel great ! I asked them "where is our trophy" for making this hill ? They all found it quite amusing. From there I got my 4th ticket & then the 3rd section dumped us back into town for more gas & something to eat. I went back to the condo ate some food , got my cell phone & headed back out around 3:30 pm to try to hopefully get to another check point & just one more ticket. The 4th section of over 35 miles was easy at first with fire roads that ended in a single track goat trail along the side of "Clarks Summit" south of town where I was forced to go under 3 fallen trees one of which required me to DRAG my motorcycle under upon which time I tore my turn signal off. If that wasn't enough the fallen tree blocking the trail at a diagonal forced me to pick my bike up over it. By the time the 4th section was over it was 6 PM & at highway 38 at nearly 9000 feet, exhausted & out of time I was forced to ride the road 20 miles back to town. I was told that the 5th section of the course had the most difficult hill climb of nearly a mile long. As much as I wanted to finish & get a plaque there was no way I had the time, (deadline was 7PM to get the final ticket), nor the energy to continue for another 39 miles of who knows what was ahead. After getting back to the nice condo, taking a shower we went to the "Complimentary" dinner that was excellent. I wish I could say that the ride was "FUN" but I cannot. We talked to a few of the riders that all agreed that the ride consisted of too many challenges & not enough fun sections. This concludes my synopsis of the BBTR 2009.

Last edited by DustyRock on Tue Jun 30, 2009 8:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Thanks Roger: I Appreciate it. I have been on plenty of tough rides before & recently with a 25 year old out of Jawbone & Single tree, that guy works me over pretty good. He is an extremeley smooth rider that rides EVERY weekend. I like riding with him cause I get to see country i have never seen before & ride in areas where you would think a motorcycle couldnt make it. The BBTR was punishing for sure & honestly was WAY over the top to have "FUN". Of course I have to credit AXO dude for twisting my arm to go on the BBTR. I would not have gone, I have to say I have no regrets about going, BB is beatiful & it was my 1st time there. Will I ever ride the BBTR sanctioned event again ? Probably not. The giant bruise & lump on my thigh from falling on the footpeg while lifting my KTM over the fallen tree as well as the sore muscles is still reminding me of the ride. I would have loved to take some pictures but had no time to do anyting but to concentrate & ride.

Last edited by DustyRock on Tue Jun 30, 2009 8:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I'll bet if you are going to attempt this ride then a few pre rides are in order. It sounds quite exausting but props to both of you for attempting the "A" section with only minor injury. I heard a couple of guys sliced their tires wide open on those rock sections. I'm sure your all better riders for it.
Ride-on "Duane'